All children of God are called to bear spiritual fruit, to cultivate a spiritual crop. What this means for each of us is a little different. We’ve been gifted and wired special and peculiar ways. God has created us unique and also our callings will be unique. Hence we are not to compare ourselves with each other. We are to do the creative best we can with our own life and help others along the way. The main goal for…
Are you living the best life ever? Or is there room for improvement? Do you live openly and expansively or do you feel fenced in? Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection….
Oswald Chambers talks about self-consciousness versus Christ-consciousness in his book “My Utmost for His Highest” published in 1935. Nothing could be more relevant for today’s Christian navigating his/her way in today’s world. As we struggle to thrive in the midst of all the demands of our lives the only compass that we can trust to get us through everything is Jesus Christ. When we stress out we are self-centered, self-conscious. When we bring our worries to Jesus our burdens are…
God is calling us to a radical life-change. Are you ready? Because “God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” (Romans 2:4, MSG) We are called to be followers of Jesus Christ. Not just fans that keep on doing whatever they wish. Where are you in your walk? Are you a fan of Jesus or are you ready to really follow whatever the cost? This…
We are all pilgrims on our way to God. We yearn to know how to make it. Psalm 119 provides us helpful ways to ensure progress on our pilgrimage. Let’s see what they are. 1) KEEP ON WALKING This looks too obvious. But too often we sit down and don’t keep on walking. We are on journey. This world is not our home. We are on our way to home and we need to keep on walking. Slowly but surely…
This famous quote by St. Francis of Assisi “Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words” gives us a push to LIVE our faith. Words are important but we need to walk the talk, too. “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re…
It might be Friday the 13th but This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps.118:24) Yes, let’s rejoice! It might be Friday the 13th but all the promises of the Bible are in effect also today. Earlier, before you knew God personally, you were enslaved to so-called gods that had nothing of the divine about them. But now that you know the real God—or rather since God knows you—how can you…
Accepting help is sometimes very hard. We are supposed to be independent and manage on our own, right? Hence it is terrifying to admit that we do need help, at least, once in awhile. We would like to be perfect and self-sufficient. Maybe that’s pride talking because we were created to live together. That’s why practicing giving and receiving help creates community and it paves a way for Christ to enter our hearts and minds. Asking forgiveness is sometimes very…
What does following Jesus really mean? Sure, it means we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and for that we give thanks to God! But how is God calling you to follow? Because God loves and calls each and everyone of use uniquely, taking into consideration our personality and life experiences. We are not just a bunch of people to God. We are individuals with needs, desires, and dreams. We are God’s children with whom he wants to…
Do you live in fraudulent freedom? Or are you truly free? Some people insists they can do whatever they want and call that freedom. Yet they are miserable. Fraudulent freedom produces just that: pure misery. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All…
